A2 Mack AY, Terns of Miiskeget Island. \ ^'^ 



being deserted. Those found last year in July were of a paler 

 color than those in the nests, and had a bleached look. Those 

 I found this season on June 15 and 16 were normal and did not 

 have the bleached look. One day while sitting in the house on 

 Muskeget, Mrs. Sandsbury, who was outside, called to me to come 

 out. Responding to her call, she informed me that she had just 

 seen a Tern drop an egg in mid air, while flying past within ten 

 yards. As it fell on the hard sand beach it was broken, so I only 

 saw the remains, but the incident served to solve to my satisfaction 

 the riddle of the single egg. Mr. Sandsbury then informed me 

 that he also had seen a Tern drop an egg this year as the bird 

 flew past him. I offer the following in explanation. Here is a 

 haunt where immense numbers of Terns are breeding. Out of the 

 number an occasional bird fails to reach her nest in time to 

 deposit her egg. Unable to retain it longer, it is dropped in mid 

 air. Should it happen to fall in soft sand (it is invariably in such 

 places that I have found them), from not too great an elevation, 

 it remains unbroken and becomes bleached by the sun. Eggs 

 which fall on harder ground, or from a greater height, are of 

 course broken. I have one specimen a little indented, with the 

 sand still adhering to the fractured part, where a little of its 

 contents had oozed out. I found about a dozen such eggs on 

 June 15 and 16, 1894, of which I saved six. They are all Rose- 

 ate's eggs, and of the usual fresh color, undoubtedly having been 

 recently dropped. On breaking one purposely, I found it to be 

 particularly fresh. Those found last year on July 3 and 4 were 

 probably old, and consequently bleached. 



I have remarked that all the Terns in this locality construct 

 their nests so that they shall harmonize with the surroundings. 

 Nests placed on the beach are usually constructed of eel-grass 

 {Zostera marina) or the eggs rest in a hollow made in the sand, 

 without anything around them. On the higher ground they are 

 composed of beach grass, or little sticks and stalks. To me they 

 show a method in their apparent carelessness. Few of them, 

 however, deserve the name of nest ; usually there is little attempt 

 at concealment, and they seem to like to place them in some spot 

 from which there is a good lookout. They are often placed on 

 top of the windrow of eel-grass washed ashore on the beach, close 



